MORAGA, Calif. – Head Coach
Jeff Hendershot tallied his first win leading the Pacific women's volleyball program after taking down Gonzaga in four sets (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18) at the UCU Pavilion on the campus of Saint Mary's in day two of the Gael-Bear Classic.
Pacific's (1-1) success began on the offensive end, more than doubling their kills from a day ago – and did so efficiently, hitting over .300 in two of four sets and finished the game with a .250 clip. Second year outside hitter
Hannah Koester was at the forefront of the offensive renaissance, going for a team leading 14 kills – one shy of her career high. Much like her team, Koester was efficient with her looks, needing only 31 swings to reach her 14 kills (14-3-31, .355). In her young career, the Tigers have gone as she has gone, improving to 5-1 in matches where she reaches double digit kills.
Her teammates on the front line were equally effective pressuring Gonzaga's (1-1) defense as both third year outside hitter
Nicole Zake and second year middle blocker
Adeline Sirbu reached double digit kills. The latter student athlete has made the most of her opportunities two games in, hitting .500 this afternoon and over .400 against Cal to give Sirbu a .476 season hitting percentage.
Unsurprisingly, the uptick in kills was accompanied with an uptick in assists, led by third year setter
Alessia Couchond's 22 assists tied for the most in the match while second year setter
Chloe Giehtbrock reached double digit assists for the first time in her career and more than doubled her previous career best in the process.
On the defensive end Pacific was much improved from the season opener, limiting Gonzaga to a .239 hitting percentage and forced the Bulldogs into 14 service errors – the tenth straight win as a program when forcing ten-plus service errors on a neutral court (last loss versus Iowa State in 2024). However, balls that did stay in play, serve or otherwise, largely found the hands of second year libero
Bella Gutierrez, who dug a match leading 27 balls and a new career high. In addition to the match and individual accolades, Gutierrez' 27 digs are a program high since
Jayhlin Swain recorded 27 digs against Gonzaga in 2024.
Dating back to the 2017 season, the second-year libero is just the fifth student-athlete in program history to reach the 25-dig mark in a single match, joining
Jayhlin Swain,
Megan Nishimura, Jadyn Tubbs, and Katrin Gotterba.
Zake and Giethbrock were both active defensively alongside their libero, tallying eleven and ten digs respectively to give each student-athlete a double-double.
Pacific's stay at the Gael-Bear Classic comes to a close tomorrow when they return to Berkeley for a neutral court match against Southern Utah. It's the first meeting between the Tigers and Thunderbirds since 2010, a match won by Pacific. The match will not be streamed but can be followed via live stats.
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the
PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at
209-946-2474. Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
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